The Portland daily press., 1887-03-21
OUR FISHERIES.
The Work Of the CommIssion-An
Instance of Canadian Injustice.

WASHINGTON, March 20--During the past
winter, which was an unusually severe one
at sea, the Fish Commission succeeded in
Matching 35,O0O,OOO cod eggs, bringing the
young up by hand till able to feed themselves
and turning them loose into the ocean. This
crop" will be ripe four or five years hence,
Among the tasks which the commission has
set for immediate performance is that of at
tempting to re-people our coast waters with
halibut. Despite the theory of some emf
nent scientists that the efforts of mankind
can never make any appreciable decrease in
the food supply Of the ocean. the supply of
this valuable food fish has been depleted in
waters where it was once common, ana such
as remain lurk in the depths. from l5O to 400
fathoms. They may be taken with hook
ana line. but difficulty is experienced in
bringing them from such depth with
enough vitality remaining to make them SER
viceable to the Commission. The task will
require time and careful experiments. En-
couragement, however, is found in the fact
tnat single one Of the species has recently
been taken in the lower Potomac, the first
instance OF the kind known to the Commits
sion, with its stomach full of fresh fish upon
which 1t was to all appearance thriving. An
attempt VIII probably be made to plant hall
Dut IN chesapeake Bay. The Fish Commits
sion people had radical notions respecting
the fishery troubles with Canada, and speak
IN no gentle. terms of our neighbors who
narrass our fishermen so as to force a Way for
their own products into our markets. which
II II is declared is the impelling motive in all
their latter operations. We need, it is fur
ther said, no other rights than those
we possess under any reasonable
Interpretation of the existing treaties.
1t would be convenient thing were our fish
ermen permitted to buy our bait of Cana
a nrfrr rllnnn rr .NA - =
success while prohibition with respect to
1shlng within the three mile limit is believed
70 be absolutely advantageous to us under
the existing methods Fishermen, to be
sure, sometimes think the prohibition a
hardship, but in this they are not wise. The
nets now in universal use are costly fabrics
and need deep water for their successful USE
The temptation to drop them into waters
where they are liable to damage and des-
tructlon is almost Irresistible to fisherman
upon whom there are no legal restrictions 1t
is demonstratable, the officials of the com
mlsslon say, that the success of American
vessels the season through is not less than
that OF fCanadians upon whom no restrictions
are imposed. One of the outrages which has
inquired somewhat in recent diplomatic liter
ature on this subject came un-
per Captain Collins personal knowledge.
He had entered a Canadian port, as he had
right to do, for food and other supplies, and
was ON his way out when he encountered a
'NSSNA W NOltul i4idu VI HIS
acquaintance. who said he was short of
water, kerosene and food for the homeward
voyage, having been delayed at sea by adj
verse winds. Captain Collins supplied his
acquaintance with kerosene, but advised
nm to go into port for water, which he had
a right to get, and for food, refusal of which
under the circumstances, it was thought,
would have disgraced a race of barbarians.
Captain Collins gave the master letter of
introduction to the law partner of the
American c0nSnI the pnncul biunSa1f ha,,n
absent. The vessel entered port. went
through the requisite legal formula and was
permitted to fill her water tanks. but was
imperiously refused the privilege of buying
food: Not only this, but her papers were
detained "a hours by the port officials, dur
ing which time favorble wind was blowing.
Then she was sent to sea with her crew in a
state of semi-starvation.